Split Second
by Light's Panties
Summary: And they all fall dead, one by one. - USUK, Character Death, M for Language and Blood


**A/N: This was supposed to be a drabble.**

**I guess I can't write those.**

**ANGST ANGST ANGST LOL**

**Apocalyptic fanfics, ftw.**

**Pairings: US/UK, Pastacest + Spamano + Franada + Pruhun + TurkGreece + SuFin if you squint**

**ENJOY-**

**-/-**

Korea had clutched his throat and gasped for air before any of the others. China held his little brother while tears fell down his smooth cheeks – Korea was gone. All of the other nations stared in horror at Korea's glazed eyes, watching him take his last breath and then go limp in China's arms. The Italy brothers clutched each other. Spin grasped Austria's hand in fear, and France drew Canada into a protective embrace. America looked all around for England, but he was nowhere to be seen. Skipped the meeting in favour of a dinner with the Prime Minister.

Even Russia gazed at Korea's lifeless body with wide eyes. A flicker of sheer terror glinted in his pupils, and the he gasped. Heads turned from the dead Korea to the choking Russia. The great man fell to his knees, tearing the scarf from his throat and gasping for air. China let Korea slip from his arms and rushed over, cupping Russia's pale face in his hands and whispering. Tears formed in Russia's pale eyes – something the other nations had never seen before. He opened his mouth wide and took deep breaths, fighting for his life. Belarus and Ukraine were suddenly at his side, resting him gently against the wall. His breathing was almost normal again when the unexpected trickle of blood fell from his jaw, and he didn't breathe again. His sisters stood back, their hands covering their mouths and their eyes filled with tears. China looked from Korea to Russia, and sobbed like nobody had ever seen before.

This was the end.

All the nations knew it when they saw China break down in agonizing cries. China knew something they didn't, and that something had killed Korea and Russia. Every other country was silent; they were petrified that if they moved, they would be the next on the floor. Poland was the first one to gain enough courage to stand forward. The phoenix; the bravest of them all.

"Like... what was _that_?" He hissed.

"It's h-happening, aru" China moaned.

"Why are they, like, _dead?"_

China leant against the conference table – now unused – for support. Tears still streamed down his cheeks like rivers. "The end. It's happening... I saw- I saw it with R-Rome and Ancient G-Greece. If all your people die, y-you die. It's the only thing that can k-kill us."

Every nation realized just how serious it was. Even Veneziano understood. There were no Koreans anymore. There were no Russians. Within less than ten minutes, both populations had been reduced to zero. Some unknown force had killed them all, and if it could happen to those two, it could happen to anyone.

"What the _fuck_!" Romano screamed, letting go of his twin for a moment. "What sort of thing could bring down _two_ fucking _nations_ in less than ten minutes?"

Veneziano couldn't stand it, and simply grasped his brother again and buried his head into the other Italian's chest. Romano, for once, clutched him back.

"I don't _know_" China fell back down to his knees, his hand sliding onto Russia's. "It took _years_ to bring down Ancient Greece and Rome – and I thought _that_ was quick... It m-must be the end, aru..."

They were silent after that. The end. Each of the nations had lived for _centuries_. And it had seemed like even longer. But now – now that it was the end – everything was too short. Not enough love, not enough laughter, not enough _life_. Would they all really die? What about the nations that weren't _at_ the meeting? England, Seychelles, Hong Kong – and many others. They'd skipped it for one reason or another. Would they die too? America glanced around. Everyone was still silent, except for muffled sobs of China, and the uneven breathing of Russia's sisters. Veneziano let out an occasionally whine, and Romano whispered streams of Italian into his ear.

"Are we all going to die?" Latvia squeaked.

The other two Baltics inhaled sharply, and Estonia wrapped his arms around the young boy, whose lip was wobbling. Lithuania gripped Poland's hand like a vice. China shrugged, unable to speak. He still held onto Russia's cold, dead hand. Japan had moved to crouch next to Korea, the tiniest hint of sadness resting in his face. Korea was only _fifteen_.  
And nothing could touch Russia. How could something... or some_one_ kill such a young boy? And how could they kill someone who _could not be touched_?

"F-fuck!"

Everyone turned. Prussia was clutching his chest.

"P-Prussia!" Hungary squeaked, letting go of Austria to rush to the albino's side.

"F-fuck... West? A-Are you..." He was cut off mid-sentence by the sudden fit of coughs, blood spurting from his jaw with every lurch. Switzerland and Austria ran over, too. But they couldn't do anything except _be_ there. Prussia fell face first into a puddle of his own blood and saliva – dead.  
All eyes turned from Prussia to Germany.  
Prussia was a part of Germany. The unlucky blonde had something Korea and Russia didn't – the knowledge that he would be next.  
Veneziano worked out what was about to happen and wailed, dashing over to the tall man with tears streaming down his face.

"No! No! Germany, don't!" He wailed.

Hungary and Romano pulled him back from his friend, pushing him into a corner where he sobbed into Romano's chest. The darker-haired Italian sighed and looked over at Germany, a silent apology for all the insults and trouble he'd given.

Germany tried to make it quick. He felt the pain in his chest, he couldn't breathe and there was blood scratching at his throat. So he closed his eyes, and let Austria and Switzerland lower him gently to the floor. The last thing everyone heard before Germany stopped breathing was Veneziano's loud sobbing.

"Is there any w-way we can, like, _stop_ this? Before anything else happens?" Poland whispered.

"Are any of us in a _state_ to sort this?" Switzerland gestured the trembling Hungary, the silent Belarus and Ukraine, the crouching China and the wailing Veneziano.

"We have to do something..." Spain muttered. "I don't want to see..." He flashed a quick glance at Romano, who was softly singing to Veneziano in Italian. "... everyone die..."

"Okay..." Greece walked to the table, and pulled out a chair. "How about everyone who feels that they _can_ work comes and sits down? We could try and figure something out before the rest of us go."

Several of the nations nodded. Spain sat himself down beside Greece, and France beside him. Turkey sat on the other side of Greece, and they were also joined by Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Canada and America. Hungary remained next to Prussia and Germany, with Austria by her side. China, with tears still streaming down his cheeks, sat beside Russia. He held Russia's hand, but he stared disbelievingly at Korea's body. Ukraine and Belarus remained with Russia too, grievingly silent. Veneziano continued to cry in the corner; Romano wore his brave face and emotionlessly sang Italian songs to him in a hushed tone. None of the other nations had attended the meeting.

"What do we do about the people who didn't come?" America asked, thinking about England.

France pulled a phone from his pocket. "We got these phones in the nineties?" He said; not quite asked, not quite stated. "Don't they automatically call if anything bad happens?"

Japan – the creator of that technology – nodded slowly. "But we want to stop the deaths" He said. "Not just know when they occur..."

"Where do we start?" America stood up. Now – more than ever – he had to be a hero. "There's no way of knowing _why_ we're dying..."

"Newsflash, fucker." Romano growled, interrupting his own song. "Television."

"What?" America frowned.

"News. _The News_. The _fucking television!"_ He pointed to the screen mounted on the wall, and then turned back to his brother and continued to sing.

America hurriedly grabbed the remote control and pressed the button. The other nations turned to watch – with the exception of the mourning ones – and the news flashed on.

"_Latest reports indicate that the entire country has been wiped out."_ The presenter's voice trembled. _"It is n-not clear who released the weapons, but it is a-almost certain that the w-weapon used in Germany was set off by the s-same people who used identical weapons in R-Russia and Korea less than h-half an hour ago"_

Even the nations who were unfit to try and help the others at the table looked up at the screen. There was an image of a world map; Germany, Russia and Korea were filled in red.

"_There is n-no evidence to suggest any survivors. Various h-heads of state can confirm that weaponry like this h-has not been seen before, and the p-people behind this are unknown, st-still. We don't know if this is it, or if other countries are a target too. The three which have been a-attacked were rich countries or s-superpowers, so we can predict that if there a-are any more attacks, it may f-follow this p-pattern..." _

America had enough. He turned the television off and looked around at the stunned faces near him. The ones struck by grief were less shocked, and soon enough, Veneziano's wails could be heard again.

"Rich countries and superpowers." Japan repeated. "I believe that means myself, America, China and England will be soon"

"Not necessarily..." Spain mumbled. "You might live. It all depends who is doing this, right?"

"One way or another, we're all going to go." France shrugged. "I don't think there's much chance of us stopping any of this..."

"Shut _up_, Bastard!" Romano shouted. "You're scaring Feli'!"

As if to support his argument, Veneziano started screeching even louder. America glanced at the watch on his wrist. It had been seventeen minutes since Germany had died. Any second now, and another nation could fall. What sort of weapon could wipe out one nation – and _one_ particular nation only, so easily? What kind of _person_ would even consider doing that?

"A-ahh..."

"_Roderich!"_

The nations at the table leapt to their feet. Hungary was clutching her husband in her arms. Austria was coughing, retching blood over her sleeve. He was gasping for air and his limbs were going limp. Hungary's mouth was gaping wide, and she glanced frantically from Austria to Prussia, tears dripping from her eyes and landing in Austria's hair.

"_The fucking television!"_ Romano screamed.

America turned it on again, just in time to see the reporter frantically stammering the details of the attack. Austria had just been hit, and it was clearly as fatal as the others. Hungary let out a final cry of despair, and she dropped to her knees again with Austria in her arms. She laid him down next to Prussia, and stood up. Her normally-spotless dress was soaked with the blood of both Prussia and her husband.

"W-We have to do something..." She whimpered, trying to sound strong.

"We can't do anything, aru" China hissed, cradling Russia's head. "It's the _end_"

"_They're dead_!" Hungary screamed, startling the other nations. "And we'll be dead too! Gilbert and Roderich are _gone_!"

"_Merda_!" Romano yelled. "Shut _up_!"

"You don't have anything to worry about, _Romano_, they won't get _you_!" China screeched. "You're not rich _or_ powerful!"

"It won't matter once we're all fucking _dead_!" Romano screeched back.

"Shut up!" America yelled. Romano and China stopped yelling. "Another one goes pretty much every quarter of an hour. We have ten minutes until another fifteen minutes have passed."

"W-what can we do?" Veneziano whined, his voice muffled by Romano's clothes. "H-how can we stop this?"

Nobody could answer him. They didn't _know_ if there was anything they could do. All they could do was wait and see which one of them would die next. It was an awful wait. They sat or stood in silence for the ten minutes that they mentally decided was called the 'safe time'.

"Liet, I'll, like, totally miss you." Poland piped up.

"P-Poland..." Lithuania blushed. "I-I..."

"I hope I go first." He continued. "Then, like, I won't have to be without you. Even if it's only for ten minutes."

Lithuania sniffed and a few lonely tears dribbled from his eyes and despite the God-awful situation they were in, he smiled. Poland smiled back, and the two boys embraced each other in a warm hug. The other nations watched the heart-warming scene and a few even smiled a little. Belarus took Ukraine's hand without a word and gave it a squeeze, and Romano wrapped his arms around his brother and kissed the top of his head. Even Spain and France gave each other a smile, and –even if it wasn't for long- the nations actually felt happiness.

America just wished the England was there to say goodbye to.

The blonde nation pulled out his phone and quickly dialled England's number. He had to say goodbye if this was the end. He had to.

"_Hello?_"

"E-England? It's me. Have you seen the news?"

"_What? Oh... yeah... the attacks... how are they?"_

"E-England..." America's voice almost cracked. "They're dead. Korea, Russia, Prussia, Germany, Austria. They're all dead."

"_What?_"

"The attacks wiped out their populations" America bit his lip. "They're gone. We don't know who's next..."

"_I have to go... the Prime Minister wants to see me... America... don't worry."_

England hung up, and America slipped his phone back into his pocket. The others looked at him, but he didn't really know what to say to them. England had been odd about the whole thing. He hadn't panicked, or started cursing. The blonde admired England's ability to stay calm, and wished he could be that strong.

"_T-The hit on Austria has left Europe in fear..._" The television started blaring again. _"Citizens right here in Paris are even panicking at the s-sight of planes, and ... OH... OH MY G-GOD!"_

The reporter screamed in terror, and the screen went black. Then France started gasping. Canada immediately grabbed his hand and stroked his hair, and Spain took France's other hand. The blonde man coughed, and splattered the table with blood. Canada whimpered, and France tried to smile up at him.

"C-Canada..." He wheezed. "B-be careful..."

"France? D-don't..." Canada whimpered again.

France smiled properly at him, and then turned his head to gaze over at Romano. "Lovino? Sorry I always used to hit on you... be good to Antonio, and your brother..."

"F-Fuck..." Romano's voice softened. "You can't..."

Then France was gone. He died with a streak of blood from his lips to his chin, and a smile of his face. Canada broke down in tears at the sight of his half-lidded sapphire eyes, and even Romano's lip trembled.

"F-Francis..." Canada whispered.

"Stupid... Baguette... Bastard..." Romano muttered, tears dripping down his cheeks.

The nations didn't even know what to do or where to start planning how to stop the deaths, so instead they let Turkey and Spain line up the bodies in the spacious far-end of the room, in the sunlight that streamed through the window. They placed their arms on top of one another and closed their eyes. They wiped the blood from their faces and straightened their clothes. By the time the two men were finished, the six dead nations looked as though there were in a peaceful sleep.  
Just as Spain was brushing France's hair from his eyes, their phones all beeped in unison. Only America pulled his out.

Hong Kong.

The little screen on the phone glowed red. Red for death. They'd lost another nation.

"H-Hong Kong." America stated. "He's gone."

China fell to his knees yet again, practically howling with tears. "This is _unfair_" He moaned. "First my brother... then my... uh... now... my _other_ brother... no..."

Japan put his hand on China's shoulder, and the smaller brunette stood up. Japan didn't say anything, but simply pulled his old friend into an embrace. China let him, and sobbed on Japan's shoulder.

Then the phones went again.

This time, almost everyone pulled out their phones.

"N-No..." Switzerland gasped. "No..."

Liechtenstein.

She was even younger than Korea. Latvia gave a whine and buried his face in Estonia's chest. Switzerland's face crumpled, and for the first time in years, he cried. The other nations could hardly bear it. The world was breaking apart so fast, before their eyes. One minute, a nation could be perfectly fine and well, and the next it could be gone. Obliterated in a second by some unknown party.

Then Switzerland gave a choked gasp, and he fell to his knees. Less than a minute apart from Liechtenstein's demise. He clutched his chest and gasped for air, the telltale trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Hungary slapped a hand over her mouth and ran to him, slowly helping him to lie down next to Austria. Latvia buried his head even deeper in Estonia's chest, and Veneziano made a quiet request for Romano to sing again, which he obliged.

"G-Guys?" Antonio whispered, trying not to interrupt Hungary – who was straightening out Switzerland's clothes and brushing his hair from his eyes. "I got two beeps. Egypt and Taiwan."

China screamed. "_NO! WHAT THE FUCK?" _ He grabbed onto Japan, sobbing hysterically on his shoulder. "Why us..."

Turkey and Greece both looked taken aback at the loss of Egypt. They forgot about their hatred at that moment and Greece wrapped his arms around Turkey's waist and stifled a sob. Turkey clenched his jaw and held onto Greece while the other nations looked on. China's strangled screams echoed about the room, his small hands grasping at Japan's jacket. Japan put his arms around the brunette and closed his eyes.  
They hardly noticed as Greece and Turkey both started bleeding. It was only when the gasping started that everyone saw the two dying. Together. They fell to the ground with Turkey still holding Greece in a protective hug.

"_ESTONIA_!"

Latvia had waterfalls of tears streaming down his snow-white cheeks, and he was staring at Estonia. The young blonde had doubled over and was retching blood. Lithuania gasped and ran to his brother's side, helping him to lie next to Switzerland. It was grim. All they could do for the dying was help them to the ground. No saviours; no salvation. Poland cradled the wailing Latvia in his arms, for once without anything witty left to say. They hardly had time to mourn, for when Estonia had ceased his breathing, the phones beeped again. Three times.

Cuba.

Seychelles.

Vietnam.

America and Canada both grasped each other at the sound of Cuba's name. China began his deathly howl once again once he heard Spain say Vietnam. It was only him and Japan left from their family. In fact; the only ones left at all were America, Canada, Spain, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus, Sweden, Finland, the Italy brothers and the absent England.

Then Ukraine let out a pained scream. Blood was trickling from her mouth and she grabbed onto her sister. Before Ukraine had even hit the floor, Belarus was bleeding too. The two sisters watched each other die; Lithuania and Hungary rushed to help them lie down, and they closed their eyes together.

"This is fucking _bullshit_" Romano hissed, stroking his brother's hair. "What the _fuck_. They're dying even sooner."

"W-What can we do?" Finland squeaked.

"Nothing!" China screamed, his head still on Japan's shoulder. "We can _die_! That's it! There's just us left. We in this room, aru!"

America clenched his jaw. "And England. We haven't got the beep for England."

"That doesn't mean he isn't _dead_, aru!"

"_England is not dead!_" America yelled, letting go of Canada and slamming his fist down on the table.

"Why do you care so _much_ about England, aru? Because the person _you_ love isn't gone?"

China glared at America, his shirt soaked by tears. "I-It's not fair..."

"We might still l-live..." Canada mumbled.

"No we _won't_, aru!" China was hysterical, and had barely finished his sentence before Japan pulled him back into an embrace.

"F-Fratello?" Veneziano mumbled. "I-I don't want to d-die..."

"You won't, Feli'..." Romano looked more like he was trying to convince himself, than Veneziano.

"S-Su-san!" Finland gasped. "I-I'm..."

America and the others all turned to stare at Finland, who was being embraced by Sweden. The tall Scandinavian looked distraught, and the others soon saw a patch of deep red blood spread on his shirt from where Finland's head was buried. Finland was dying. Even when his gasping for air had stopped, and his arms had fallen to his sides, Sweden kept his loving hold on him until he too, started gasping for air.  
The two lover nations were laid side-by-side, their hands clasping.

"Me, Canada, Japan, China, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Spain, the Italy Brothers..." America said, "... and England."

"Why are we, like, the only ones left?" Poland asked, both he and Lithuania were holding a trembling Latvia.

Romano let go of his brother, his face flushing bright red. "Someone has to be doing this!" He shouted. "One of the survivors! One of _us_ is doing it!"

"_Lovino_!" Spain exclaimed. "You're not _accusing_ anyone, are you?"

"Of course I fucking am. We get hold of the person doing this, and hold them for hostage until their nation stops!"

The other nations stared at Romano. The thought had never entered their minds until then. America bit his lip. Would one of them really do that? It wouldn't be Veneziano or Canada, obviously. He doubted that Latvia or Lithuania would do anything like that either. And if it wasn't Veneziano, it probably wouldn't be Romano – they had the same boss. That left Spain, Japan, China, Himself and England. America knew that it wasn't _him_, and his boss worked so closely with the British scientists that it was impossible for it to be England. He doubted that it was Spain – Spain wasn't concerned with that sort of stuff.  
That left China and Japan.  
Either China was one hell of a good actor, or it was the technologically-superior Japan.

The blonde looked over at Japan; Romano seemed to have come to the same conclusion and glared at the black-haired Asian as well.

"America-san? Romano-san?" Japan asked, confused.

"Why?" Romano hissed.

"Japan...?" America mumbled. Japan was his friend, but if it was him...

"Y-You surely don't believe that I did it... do you?"

"You're fucking _wrong_!" Romano snarled. "I do... but _why_?"

"Why would Japan _kill_ his own family?" China growled, his cheeks tear-stained. "If anyone, it would be America. You power hungry bastard, aru"

"Hey!" America shouted. "I would _never_ do something as evil as this! Why would _I_ kill Cuba? And the little ones?"

"H-Hey..." Canada mumbled. Nobody noticed him.

"Yeah! Unless you're trying to cover up because _you_ did it, Panda-Bastard!" Romano screamed.

"G-Guys..."

"What are you _on_ about, aru! There's no point in accusing you since you're too _poor_ to develop weaponry like this!" China yelled back.

"I-I'm..."

"Fratello! Calm down!"

"H-Help..."

"Hey, where's Canada?" Spain asked, putting his hand on Romano's tense shoulder.

Everyone looked around, and eventually America spotted his brother lying face-down on the floor, a small pool of blood underneath his head.

"C-Canada...?" America whispered. No answer.

Spain laid the young blonde next to France, and Canada's head fell slightly to face the man who had raised him. The row of bodies almost looked like they were sleeping. Except for the earlier ones; they had turned a sickly blue. Latvia turned away from the dead and stuffed his head underneath Poland's jacket, letting out the occasional gulpy sob. Veneziano reached out for Romano, who was still trembling angrily.

"F-Fratello?" He muttered. "Please don't be angry at anyone. Not if we might die. _Ti amo, ti amo..._"

Romano's lip trembled, and he grabbed hold of Veneziano, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against his brother's. "_Ti amo Feliciano, non voglio perdere lei"_

America watched the two and then looked at Canada's almost peaceful body. It was too cruel. Too cruel of fate to let them die like this. So soon, they had hardly any time to say goodbye. They barely had time to be scared. They only had enough time to break.

"I-I'm sorry..." Romano flushed red again, facing China and Japan. "There's not enough time to fight... fuck..."

"I'm sorry too" America blurted out. Now that he looked at China and Japan, he could see that they were just two men distraught at the loss of their family. "I shouldn't have..."

"It's okay." Japan said solemnly. China nodded.

"Ah-Ahh..." Spain groaned, and grabbed his chest. "Shit... no..."

"_SPAIN!_" Romano screamed, letting go of Veneziano. "_¡No ir!" _

"L-Lovino..." Spain coughed, blood spattering down his shirt. "_Usted ha tenido mejor sobrevivir... Ti quiero..._"

For Spain, it was the two Italy brothers who helped him to the ground. They weren't as strong as him, so they couldn't line him up with the others. Instead, he sat against the wall, with Romano's tears falling onto his lifeless body. This time, it was Veneziano who had to hold Romano; both Italians sobbed their hearts out, but Romano cried the hardest. Neither of them could even muster the strength to speak. America clutched his phone, staring at the screen. He was dreading the little red light. The red light that would tell him England had died.

"America, North and South Italy, Myself, Japan, China, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and England..." Hungary's voice shook. "There are nine countries left on the planet. Only nine."

She was staring at her phone, staring at a news post on the internet. Apparently even that unrepresented countries had gone. America looked over her shoulder at it. Apart from the nine countries that she had mentioned, the entire world was filled in red.  
The population of the world had fallen to less than half of what it was before in less than two hours.

"I-I'm calling England" America muttered. Hungary nodded, and the others were too preoccupied to listen.

"_Hello?_"

"England? It's me..."

"_Oh, Hello America. I've been trying to see what's going on. A lot of countries have been attacked?"_

"Yeah... it's bad...What the hell is happening?"

"_I don't know. Who's left?"_

"Me... you... Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Japan, China and the Italy Brothers"

"_Ten... nine nations... is there any connections between the ones who have died? Do you have any idea who is doing this?"_

"No connections, really... We thought it must be one of the survivors, but all of us are far too distraught to know who... and I know it can't be you; our scientists always work too closely for that to happen"

"_Yes. I must be going... The Prime Minister, the Cabinet and I need to try and sort out some sort of strategy. Who is the most powerful country left?"_

"I'd say you, me, Japan or China... probably China... why?"

"_Uh... we have to... think about who might be... attacked... I really..."_

Then the phone cut off. For a split second, America was frightened that England might have been attacked, but there was no red light on the warning phone. He'd just lost signal. That was all.

"Is he okay?" Japan asked.

"Yes... he thinks that the more powerful countries will probably go next..."

"Who is, like, the most powerful?" Poland asked, his voice hushed.

"Probably China..." America eyes met China's. "You have the best tanks, and the biggest army. And your nuclear weapons are more advanced than anyone else's."

"I guess, aru..." China rubbed his eyes.

"Kinda weird that England, like, keeps hanging up on you" Poland commented.

"No, I lost-"

"AHH!" China screamed.

The brunette Asian fell to his knees, his hands over his heart. Blood was pouring from his mouth even worse than anyone else. He was coughing, but not getting enough air. Japan gasped and put his arm around his older brother, tears welling in his eyes.

"J-Japan..." China wheezed, between coughs. "I-I'm sorry..."

He gave one final retch, spewing blood all over the floor, then he fell backwards and hit his head with a painful crack. America looked over at the screen of Hungary's phone. The map updated to fill China in with red, and was accompanied by the headline: '_China attacked. Eight countries left untouched. Will any of them remain for long?'_

Japan folded his arms on China and leant on them; he was crying. The last Eastern nation left. China's face was stained with blood, and his dark green shirt was blotched with red. The blood left crimson streaks on Japan's white uniform, but America could see that the Asian didn't care.  
He had lost his entire family.

"Me, Liet, America, Hungary, the Italies, Latvia, Japan and England." Poland sighed. "The last eight countries on Earth. I've had, like, a great time as a nation, guys. Thank you."

Lithuania smiled and pecked Poland on the cheek. "I've had a great time too."

America managed to show a smile at the two friends, grinning at each other and both hugging Latvia.

"I still don't get why we're all dying" Romano sniffed. "Who the _fuck_ could do this?"

"Who hasn't lost anyone?" Japan muttered, his voice stifled. "America has lost Canada and Cuba. I have lost my entire family. Romano has lost Spain and France. Veneziano has lost Germany. Hungary has lost Austria and Prussia. Poland has lost Sweden, Finland and Switzerland. Lithuania and Latvia have both lost Estonia, and Lithuania has lost Belarus too."

America's eyes widened. "W-What are you trying to say, Japan?"

Romano frowned. "Are you saying...?"

"Like, Japan! Are you trying to accuse...?"

Japan made some sort of nod. "France and Spain are the closest things to a loss. And they can hardly be counted. He hates the two of them."

"He would _never_ do that!" America yelled. "He-he..."

But maybe he had. He'd skipped the meeting. He'd showed almost _no emotion_ when he was informed of the deaths. He's kept hanging up to see the Prime Minister.  
England.  
America could hardly believe it. Their scientists always worked so closely... but for the last few decades, England had been 'economically recovering' and had withdrawn from many scientific projects. Could he have been developing his own weapons? Why would he kill all the nations?  
Unless... the British Empire. England would often tell America the stories of when he was the greatest nation on Earth. He would always look upwards and smile, like he was revisiting those times. America knew that England had always longed to be back in that position – not down at the bottom of the nation-food-chain like he practically had been.

"I'll be right back!" America shouted.

"Where are you going?" Hungary asked, shocked.

"I have to stop him. I'll take the chopper to England, it's only a few miles from this island... He thinks that we don't know who has been doing this. We might still have time"

"A-Are you sure England would do this?" Veneziano squeaked.

"More likely to be him than anyone else!" Romano snarled. "Get him, America"

"_Kill him_" Japan whispered, still leaning on China.

Hungary fingered the wedding ring on her left hand. "Make sure you don't let him know what you're doing."

America nodded, and ran out of the room. It didn't take him long to reach the helicopter on top of the roof, and he had been trained how to fly it.  
In fact, he was in the air so swiftly that it was like he was on some kind of mental autopilot. England. The man who had raised him; who had taught him to read and write and speak; who he had _loved_.  
The helicopter flew speedily over the few miles of Atlantic ocean, and it wasn't long before he could see the coast of England. There were no more beeps on his phone, so the American assumed that England was stalling his last attacks.  
He landed on the roof of the building that England used for meeting with the Prime Minister. The guards knew who he was and they let him in.  
America desperately tried to come up with a story as he rushed down the steps and down hallways towards the meeting room. He could say that his President had called with news, that they thought they had the person who was leading the attacks. He could say it was... China. He could say that China wasn't dead when he left, and he didn't trust the others enough not to tell. So he'd... faked another call from the President, and left to 'warn' England. Yes, that would do.

The Cabinet all looked up from their papers when America burst into the room. England sat at the head of the table in front of a computer, with the Prime Minister next to him. The messy haired Londoner frowned and tilted his head.

"America? What's wrong..? Why are you here...?"

America inhaled. This was his only chance to try and save the remaining nations. "My country has found the attacker. I don't trust the others enough to let them know, so I made an excuse and took the chopper to you!" He blurted out. "England, we have to stop them!"

England seemed convinced. "Can I speak to Mr. Jones privately, please?" He asked.

The Cabinet stood up, and one by one, they left the room. The Prime Minister was last to go. She leaned over and whispered something into England's ear and left – but not before giving America a smile which he could not determine between sweet and menacing. Once the door was shut, England gestured for America to take a seat next to him. The younger blonde nervously sat down, and glanced at England's screen. There was nothing even remotely related to the attacks open, it was just as England had said – defence strategies. The profiles of their air force and possible targets.

"So, who is the attacker?"

"Uh... China." America paused to see England's reaction. He displayed surprise – easily faked. But America saw a flicker of true shock in his eyes. England was definitely the attacker. "He the most powerful, but he's not dead yet. The first people that went were his rivals for power. Russia. Korea."

England pressed a few keys on the keyboard and brought up a map. The attacked countries were filled in red, including China. "China is gone..." He said.

"Well, he was perfectly alive when I left..." America lied.

England probably wasn't buying it. He had one striking eyebrow raised, and a slight smirk on his face. America knew that England wasn't messing around. He couldn't help his reaction.

"I-Iggy..." America's voice cracked. "I'm scared... I don't want to die. I'm terrified. We all are. China broke down before he went... everyone was in tears... Romano and Veneziano were sobbing... Latvia can't take it... I..."

"Shut up, you bloody... fuck..." England's lips parted, and his smirk vanished. "You don't understand..."

"All I understand is their faces when they lost them. You didn't see it... it was..." America shook and lowered his head. Tears dripped down and landed on his lap. "Why? If you could only see them... the bodies... they're all lined up by the window in the light... they look like they're sleeping... most of them... Greece and Turkey died in each other's arms... China died in a pool of his own blood... Sweden kept hugging Finland's dead body until he died too..."

"Bloody hell! Shut _up!_"

"France's death left Canada and Romano in tears! Veneziano could barely speak after Germany died! _Both_ of the Italies were screaming by the time Spain died!"

"Alfred!"

America couldn't take it. He stood up, shaking with rage. "Switzerland lost his _world_ before he died! Hungary lost the only two men she truly cared about! Japan watched the last member of his family _die inside_ before he was left alone! Korea was fifteen! Liechtenstein was thirteen! Latvia is fourteen and he lost his brother – his brother died _holding_ him!"

"For Pete's sake, Al'!"

"I lost my brothers! Germany had to watch his brother die _knowing_ that he too would die seconds after! The people who weren't at the meeting would have got the red beep and died _alone_! I thought _you_ would die! I was so _fucking_ worried! You stupid... fucking..."

America was interrupted when England placed a finger on his lips, and gently pressed his shoulders down to lower him back into his seat. "Are you going to give me a chance to explain?" He asked.

"There's no way you can justify it."

"That jacket you love so much" England jabbed a finger at America's coat. "Imagine if, one day, I took it off you, and a few others got identical ones. Nobody remembered you had it, and everyone made fun of you whenever you said you used to wear that jacket. Imagine that everyone complimented me and whoever else wore your jacket. How would you feel?"

"I'd be pissed off"

"Now, imagine that instead of a jacket, it's _your everything_."

"They didn't take everything from you"

"They made it bloody feel like it. Nobody respects me anymore"

"So you fucking _killed_ them?"

"It wasn't just me who wanted it. The Cabinet agreed, and we spent decades developing the _right_ technology. The Prime Minister agreed and got elected – the _people_ wanted it too."

"They just ate up your _lies_!" America yelled. "Why couldn't you just... I don't know! Get respect back in a _less_ violent way?"

"It doesn't work like that, Alfred! I'm just drunk old England to you lot. We had to get power back somehow"

"You were never just drunk old England to me."

Tears dribbled out of England's eyes. They landed on his lap and made dark patches on the material. "Bloody hell, Alfred. You really know how... to make me... fucking hell... you bloody... git..."

"I always respected you" The younger blonde whispered. "I loved you"

England opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. So he just leaned over, and kissed America. They both forgot then what the fight had been about, they both forgot what England had done. England gently placed his hands on America's waist, and America wrapped his arms around England's shoulders. They both closed their eyes and kissed like there was no tomorrow – which there might well not have been.  
But it didn't last long.

"Bastard..." America pulled away. "You can't... do this... to me..."

"You're one to talk! You act as though I had a bloody _choice_ in this!"

"Well, didn't you? You came up with it!"

"Once I suggested it, there was no way out! I didn't think we'd _actually_ perfect the technology! Once the Prime Minister saw the 'emergency plans' – see, it was supposed to be a last resort in case of a bloody nuclear war – she was all for it. It was _her_ and the _Cabinet_ that decided to use the weapons to gain back British power!"

"By _killing_ everyone?" America scoffed. "There's hardly anyone _left_ to have power over!"

"You can't change what I did."

"But I can stop you from killing everyone else"

"How?" England frowned. America had never actually thought that part through. "You can try and stop me, but the Cabinet will just execute the plans themselves. Do you know what the Prime Minister told be before they walked out of this room? She said 'You can bloody well get rid of America once he's finished talking to you'."

"I-Iggy!"

"Sorry, Alfred..." England pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, and then typed in a code. "I have to..."

"W-What about? B-before..."

"I serve Great Britain, not love."

England pressed the enter button, and a green box popped up on the screen, accompanied by a recorded message.

'_Target has been destroyed. Total current population of the United States of America: zero'_

America's sky-blue eyes shot wide open, and he felt his windpipe tighten.

"_NO!"_

**-/-**

**I'll leave it up to you to decide whether or not England Kills the Italies, Japan, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Latvia as well. I like to think that he doesn't.  
I also like to think that Poland and Lithuania become a couple and adopt Latvia, but wtf idk.  
Then Romano and Veneziano can get together.  
Then that leaves Hungary and Japan... eh, what the hell. Hungary/Japan. I now ship it. **

**I am ttly not imagining myself as PM in this at all. Not at all. Uh, basically this fic is just my love for writing angst meeting my diehard patriotism. **


End file.
